Significant snowstorm snarls Sisters

Jim Cornelius, News Editor | Last updated Nov 18, 2014 12:0pm0

Jim Cornelius count

Heavy snowfall kept plow operators busy for days, along with residents and businesses trying to dig out.

The storm that hit Sisters Country last week would have been a significant one at any time of year. Getting some two feet of the white stuff, along with sub-zero lows, was a bit of a shock to the system, coming as it did in mid-November.

Sisters schools closed both Thursday and Friday due to weather conditions. Snowplow crews in the city of Sisters were at work as early as 1 a.m., but they struggled to keep pace with snow that fell thick and fast. Some rural subdivisions saw more than two feet of snow, and had to wait till late morning on Friday to see their streets plowed by contract crews that had more road and more snow than time.

And when the snowplows had passed, residents and businesses had their work cut out for them, breaking through berms to free their driveways. Folks with tractors and snow-blowers earned appreciation from their neighbors as people pitched in to help each other out.

City Manager Andrew Gorayeb said snowplow operators can't avoid berming-in driveways.

"They can't," he said. "They have to clear the streets and they have to do it as quickly as possible."

Sisters-Camp Sherman fire chief said that there were no serious emergencies reported. That's always a possibility with bad driving conditions and folks exerting themselves in cold weather, shoveling snow. Chief Johnson noted that the fire district is well-equipped to respond to emergencies, even when roads are buried under heavy snowfall.

Firefighters chain up ambulances and they have a high-wheel military-style rig that can get through even heavy snow. They are also prepared to go into an unplowed neighborhood behind trucks with plow blades.

Fortunately, none of that was required with the storm that passed through after two days.

The heavy snowfall was followed by three days of unseasonably cold temperatures, with highs in the teens or 20s and lows plunging below zero on Saturday and Sunday night.

The bone-chilling weather did not deter a full-house crowd from turning out to The Belfry on Saturday night for Starry Nights: Wine, Women and Song (see related story, page 1).

As The Nugget went to press, conditions were warming up to more seasonable temperatures, with highs climbing back into the 30s and 40s and lows settling into the 20s. There was a chance of rain in the forecast through the end of the week, which could create problems with localized flooding due to

snowmelt.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

Email: editor@nuggetnews.com
Phone: 5415499941

Storm unusual but not unprecedented — By Ron Thorkildson

Old Man Winter paid an early visit to the high desert last week, bringing with him chilly temperatures and a big shot of the white stuff.

On Tuesday, November 11, a bit of modified arctic air slid southward along the Cascades into eastern Washington and Oregon. By early Wednesday morning the temperature had plummeted to 5 degrees Fahrenheit (F) in Sisters. At about the same time, a modest storm system was approaching the southern Oregon coast from the west.

On Thursday morning Sisters residents awoke to anywhere from an eight- to 11-inch snowfall. Twenty-four hours later snow depths of 20 inches or more were being reported.

Even long-time residents of Sisters had to put on their thinking caps to recall this much snow so early. In fact, it has been 41 years since a similar event occurred. On November 4, 1973, 11 inches of snow blanketed the ground. The next day an additional 12 inches was recorded, bringing the grand total to 23 inches for the two-day period.

OK, so maybe the weather we just experienced didn't establish any all-time records, but it was still an impressive event. How did it happen?

Two factors were responsible for the enhanced snowfall in Sisters. First, the center of lowest pressure moved eastward to our south, keeping us just on the north side of the snow-producing frontal boundary, except for a brief period on Thursday afternoon when some sleet and freezing rain fell.

Of even greater importance, however, was the counterclockwise circulation around the low center that put us in an easterly flow. When that happened, an up-slope effect occurred that forced the moisture-laden air to rise and cool as it banked up against the Cascades, thus causing even more moisture to be squeezed out of the air and increasing the precipitation rate.

The additional snow Thursday night into Friday morning was the result of the front slowly sagging south again through our area on the back side of the system as it continued to track eastward.

Nowhere in the state was there more snow than in Sisters Country. It was cold but drier to our north and warmer to the south. Even Santiam Pass got mostly rain. This time around we were in the sweet spot.

So, was the copious amount of early snow a harbinger of what we can expect for reminder of the winter? Probably not, but just for fun your correspondent looked back at the 1973-74 winter to see what transpired from December through March. In the grip of a strong La Niña, that four-month period was wetter and colder than normal. Minor accumulations of snow occurred in December through February, but 14 inches of snow fell on March 14. Although December was warm, a good shot of frigid air overspread the region early in January sending temperatures to as low as minus-22 degrees F.

Earlier this fall, forecasters predicted a weak El Niño would likely cause the upcoming winter to be slightly warmer and drier than normal.